Portrait of Giuseppe Quarenghi, student of the Accademia Carrara

Drawing in charcoal, pencils, and light touches of white lead on oval paper measuring 29.5 x 25.5 cm, the latter glued onto a rectangular paper of 39.5 x 29.5 cm; all mounted on a thin frame of soft wood. On the back of the rectangular sheet is the following written in pen, drafted to follow the shape of the oval: "Quarenghi Giuseppe, 15 years old: d(rawn) from the nat(ure) by Bernardino Carrara 1824" The small portrait originates from the drawing school of the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, which both the author and the model attended as students of Giuseppe Diotti. There is information about both in the historical records of the Accademia Carrara: - The author of the drawing, Bernardino Carrara "son of Giacomo" was born in Albino in 1804 and was therefore 20 years old at the time; the diligence of the stroke, almost like an engraver, reveals that he had completed the long drawing practice that Diotti's students had to complete before moving on to color; - The portrayed Quarenghi Giuseppe Maria "son of Camillo" was only 15 years old, having been born in Caprino Bergamasco in 1809. Neither will have an important career in Bergamasco art, but this does not diminish the flavor of the era and the teaching of Diotti that emanates from this work, typical of his school.